JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The Carson-Newman men's golf team concludes the fall portion of its schedule with a trip to the Sunshine State to compete in the McDonough Cup at Rio Pinar Country Club in Winter Park, Fla.
Carson-Newman enters the tournament as the 18th-ranked team in the nation according to golfstat.com and won their last event, the 2015 State Farm Intercollegiate that was played in Tazewell, Tenn. at Woodlake Golf Club.
"We just got to keep doing the same things we've been doing, which is focusing on things we can control and our games. We're not getting distracted by the fact we are playing with top teams; we're just taking care of our business. We have to continue to do that," coach Randy Wylie said of continuing the team's fall success. "That's the mark of, in golf, what a great team does is that they just focus shot-by-shot on what you can control and that is your golf ball and your game and not be distracted by the competition or the golf course or those types of outside influences."
The McDonough Cup's field features four of the top-five teams in the nation and 12 of the top-25 teams in the nation. The first-ranked Saint Leo Lions highlight the competition; West Florida, Florida Southern and Nova Southeastern are the other teams that are ranked in the top-five. Host Rollins is 24th in the nation. Carson-Newman and 19th-ranked Lincoln Memorial are the only two teams from the South Atlantic Conference in the field.
Lynn is the tournament's reigning champions; the Fighting Knight enter this season's tournament ranked 17th.
The Eagles' team will consist of freshman Jake Headrick (Maryville, Tenn.), junior Dalton Reese (Warrenton, Ga.), and seniors Andrew Hall (Knoxville, Tenn.), Nicklaus Kennedy (London, Ontario, Canada) and Jace Devault (Bluff City, Tenn.).
Every player in the Carson-Newman line-up has a stroke average below 74 and four of the five players has shot a round in the 60's over the course of the previous four tournaments. Hall has the second-lowest average in the nation with an average of 68.7 strokes per round. Hall and Reese co-own the season low round of 65.
"Being deep where you are really deep and you trust your five-man really helps your one-man and two-man. They know they don't have to play perfect and if they have a bad day or a bad nine, our team is still in it because our teams have the capability to shooting under-par. It's a great feeling as a team," Wylie said.
Boasting over 50 years, Rio Pinar was first designed in 1957 by Mark Mahanna and features a competitive tree-lined course showcasing several large Florida oaks. With 43 bunkers and a winding canal which runs through five holes, Rio Pinar provides 6,955 yards of challenging championship golf. The course was redesigned in 1995 by Lloyd Clifton and provides challenge with medium-sized greens, strategic bunkering and sometimes-narrow fairways framed by mature pine and oak trees.
The McDonough Cup tees off on Monday morning with 36 holes scheduled to be played and the final round will be held on Tuesday.
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